Primary wagering games of gaming machines in most jurisdictions are games of luck. For instance, in slot machines, the player must make a wager on the slot game to begin the slot game, and the gaming machine randomly determines the outcome for the slot game. The outcome may be a winning outcome or a losing outcome. The outcome determines whether the player obtains an award according to the paytable of the slot machine.
Most slot machines are set to pay back on average between 80 and 99 percent of the amounts that the players wager. Generally, a single play of a primary game is a volatile and isolated event. Each single play of the primary game thus does not provide the player a consistent chance of winning an outcome that is in line with the average expected payback percentage for the gaming device. In any single play of a primary game, the player may: (a) lose their entire wager amount on that play of the primary game; (b) lose a portion of their entire wager amount on that play of the primary game; (c) win back an amount exactly equal to their entire wager amount on that play of the primary game; or (d) win an amount greater than their entire wager amount on that play of the primary game.
Since players run the risk of losing all or a significant portion of their wager on a single play of the primary game, some players are inclined not to wager large amounts on a single play of a primary game of a slot gaming machine or other similar machine. For instance, most players are not inclined to wager $100 on a single play of a game because, while they can win a significant amount, they can lose all or a significant portion of the $100 in a single play in a very short time period. However, a greater number of players are comfortable with a $100 gambling session if it is extended over a relatively large number of plays, such as one hundred consecutive plays. Although some players enjoy this extremely high level of volatility, the volatility associated with a single play of a primary game can be too much for other players.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need to provide gaming devices that limit or diversify the risk associated with placing large wagers in a single game.